Eastern Equine Encephalitis

Three more mosquito pools have tested positive for West Nile virus. The positive results were from mosquitoes trapped in the Smith Hill area of Providence, in the southern section of East Providence, and in central North Kingstown. All of the mosquitoes were of a species that feeds on birds and mammals.

The Department of Environmental Management says these findings are not unexpected this time of year.

Test results from two mosquito pools in Rhode Island have come back positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis. This is the second time EEE has been confirmed in the state this year.

The samples came from traps set in Tiverton and Westerly. The Department of Environmental Management says the findings aren’t surprising for this time of year, and it’s likely that EEE is present in other parts of the state.

Furthermore, two mosquito pools in Tiverton and Hopkinton have confirmed positive results for Highlands J Virus, that virus is a bird disease that doesn’t affect humans.

For the first time this year, mosquitoes trapped in Rhode Island have tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, a virus characterized by the sudden onset of headache, high fever, chills and vomiting. A second mosquito batch has tested positive for West Nile Virus.

A Rhode Island Hospital neurologist says there’s evidence that early, aggressive treatment can help the unlucky few who catch Eastern Equine Encephalitis each year in the United States. Neurointensivist (a neurologist with additional training in intensive neurological conditions) Dr. Linda Wendell has published an account of the hospital’s successful treatment of a young man with EEE.

If you’re going outdoors this weekend, as many of us will, you’ll want to protect yourself against mosquito bites. The state Department of Environmental Management is reporting the largest crop of mosquitos in at least 21 years.

The reason: heavy rains last month. The warm, dry air mass that’s with us now is slowly killing the mosquito population, but the DEM’s Alan Gettman said they’ll be bad this weekend, particularly at fireworks shows.